The disclosure relates generally to an image data processing method, and more specifically, to an image data shuffling method and an associated apparatus which are able to improve the compression ratio for multiple kinds of pixel formats, and a corresponding image data de-shuffling method and apparatus.
The scale of graphics processing units (GPU) is growing enormously, as a result of supporting various different image data formats. Some modules in the GPU may need to be duplicated and fine-tuned in order to support dedicated data paths corresponding to the different image data formats. For instance, a GPU supporting different image data formats may need 4 different built-in compression modules to achieve high compression ratios for all formats. The resultant hardware cost and the routing issues introduced therein may soon reach a point that is nearly unacceptable. If, however, the dedicated data paths are abandoned under certain compromises, the compression ratios obtained by performing compression dedicated to a certain kind of image data upon these different image data formats may degrade hugely. This dilemma in the field of image data processing requires urgent attention.